EBOOKS FOR WALES

From August 2011, Monmouthshire Libraries will be offering a free service to customers for downloading eBooks. As a member of the Welsh Public Library Purchasing Consortium, we are working together with colleagues in other libraries to introduce this new service to customers throughout Wales.

The eBooks can be downloaded to most computers, and then transferred to other portable devices such as iPads or iPhones and some eBook readers. They are not, however, Kindle compatible.

As part of this brand new pilot project, funded by WAG/CyMAL, a wide range of titles will be available, in all genres, covering fiction, non-fiction, and junior titles.

Initially, the number of titles out on loan at any one time within Monmouthshire will be very limited. Once downloaded, the title remains active on the customer’s device(s) for a fixed time, after which it automatically deletes itself. The Consortium members are consulting together to establish how the service will operate in detail.

The service is provided by Askews & Holts Library Services Ltd, a well-established UK book supplier with a long record of dealing with libraries.